Golf club with slope indicating means thereon



Feb. 28, 1967 .J. L. LILJEQUlST 3,306,61 GOLF CLUB WITH SLOPE INDICATING MEANS THEREON Filed March 6, 1964 INVENTOQ United States Patent Ofilice 3,306,618 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,618 GOLF CLUB WITH SLOPE INDICATING MEANS THEREON Jon L. Liljequist, 507 W. Algonquin Road, Chicago, Ill. 60005 Filed Mar. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 349,911 6 Claims. (Cl. 273162) This invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly to the type of club known as a putter.

A well-known maxim in the game of golf is Drive for show, putt for dough. The game of golf consists generally of two parts, of which the first concerns itself with driving a golf ball through the air to the green, and the second consists of putting the ball over the surface of the green to the cup, both of which many able and experienced golfers feel are of equal importance. Although many golfers have mastered the technique of driving, their total score is seriously hampered if their putting is not equally expert. The greens on a golf course are designed with numerous compound curves and irregular shapes which deceive the experienced as Well as the inexperienced golfer, and therefore, each green is a new and challenging obstacle to a low score. Many devices have been designed to teach a golfer how to putt straight, but putting straight cannot of itself give any indication to the golfer as to the direction in which he should putt so that his ball, under the influence of the various curves on the green, will properly curve toward the cup. Some golfers are physiologically unable to detect any curvature whatever on a gradually sloping green, and are therefore seriously limited in their ability to get a respectable golf score.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a new and improved golf club so constructed and arranged that a golfer assuming his normal golfing stance will be immediately apprised of the slope of the ground on which his bail rests.

It is an even more specific object of the present invention to provide a new and improved putter having a level forming a part of the head of the putter operatively associated with the bottom surface of the putter to provide the golfer with information as to the slope of the surface on which the putter rests.

An extension of the previous object is to provide the level portion of the club head with marks at spaced intervals so that the golfer may accurately determine the degree of the slope of the surface on which the putter rests.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a golfer using the putter of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the putter of this invention with portions of the shaft broken away;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the putter shown in FIG. 2 also with portions of the shaft broken away;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the putter head taken substantially along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3, but with the level removed;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the putter head taken substantially along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of the level portion of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section taken substantially along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 4.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a putter 10 having a ball engaging portion 12, referred to as a head or blade interchangeably hereinafter, located at its lower end and a shaft portion 14 extending upwardly therefrom at an obtuse angle with the horizontal, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shaft may be constructed of any material and in any manner, and preferably carries at its upper end a grip 16 of any suitable material such as leather or rubber. The head or blade portion 12 of the club may be integrally formed with the shaft 14, or may be attached separately thereto.

Head 12 has a substantially fiat surface 18 disposed in a generally vertical plane for striking the ball and a lower substantially flat surface 20 disposed in a generally horizontal plane used frequently by golfers to aid in aligning themselves in preparation for their putt.

The head is provided with a recess 22, best seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, in which may be removably placed a level, to he described in greater detail later. Recess 22 has a pair of vertical surfaces 24 and 26, the former being a segment of a vertical cylinder and the latter being substantially planar and parallel the ball engaging surface 18. Recess 22 also has an upwardly facing bottom surface 28 of generally concave shape having a hole 30 centered therein extending downwardly and through the bottom of head 12, said hole being chamfered at its lowermost portions as at 32.

Level means 34 is carried in recess 22 and has a shape which both pleasingly blends with the external curvature of head 12 and functionally conforms in shape to recess 22. The level 34 consists of a pair of similarly shaped hollow shells 36 and 38, shell 36 being a slope detector and indicator being constructed of a transparent material,

preferably glass or plastic, while shell 38 is constructed of an opaque material, preferably the same material as that of the head 12. Shell 36 has a generally horizontal, spherically contoured wall 40 with a pair of side walls 42 and 44 extending vertically from the peripheral edge of wall 40 and both having an outer surface 46 conforming in shape with walls 24 and 26 of head 12, but slightly smaller so as to fit therein. Walls 42 and 44 have a recess 48 opening outwardly at their edge portions furthest removed from wall 40 for receiving a seal, to be described later. Shell '38 has a substantially horizontal wall 50 of generally the same shape as wall 40 with a pair of side Walls 5-2 and 54 extending vertically therefrom having a horizontally outwardly disposed surface 56 of identical shape as surface 46, walls 52 and 54 having a flange 58 designed to align and matingly seal the shells 36 and 38 when assembled, as best seen in FIG. 5. When assembled, the shells form an enclosure 60 which may be further sealed by applying cement around the shells common contacting surfaces. Enclosure 60 is substantially filled with a liquid introduced through a hole 62 which is later plugged. Means are provided inside enclosure 60 to act as an indicator, herein shown as a void or bubble 64.

Wall 40 of level 34 is provided both with a series of grid lines 66 and a series of concentric circles 68 which can be printed or etched on either the upper or lower surface of wall 40. The spacing between adjacent lines and circles subtends a predetermined angle with reference to the center of curvature of wall 40 and is represented here in increments of five degrees. Half of the grids 66 are parallel to side walls 44 and 54 while the other half are perpendicular thereto, it being understood the same relationship must apply with respect to surface 18 when the level 34 is in recess 22.

When level ,34 is positioned in recess 22 as shown in FIG. 5, bubble 64 will lie below the center of concentric circles 68 only when bottom surface 20 is horizontal. As bottom surface 20 is tilted away from the horizontal, bubble 64 will correspondingly move away from this center position. It will be understood that the level means is multidirect-ional in that slope can be accurately measured in any direction from a horizontal plane, although, of course, a simpler form of level may be used if desired.

Because of the exterior symmetrical configuration of level 34 about a plane through recess 48, level 34 may be inserted in recess 22 either with side 40 exposed or side 50 exposed. Means are provided for snugly holding the level in either of these two positions and is shown herein in the form of an O-ring 70 made of a material such as felt or rubber. -O-rin g 70 is seated in recess or groove 48 of level 34 and is designed to interferingly press against walls 24 and 26 when the level is in either of its two positions described hereinbefore. Air, which would otherwise be trapped below the level during its insertion into recess 22 and thereby resist insertion, is effectively released through hole 30 during the insertion operation. Hole 30 also serves the function of permitting a dislodging device, not shown, to be inserted therein from the bottom of the club head 12 to assist dislodging the level when it is desired to remove it or turn it over. This hole has deliberately been designed to permit entry by an ordinary golf tee when would always be in the possession of a person engaged in a game of golf.

Thus it can be seen that the level 34 can be quickly and easily reversed either to give the putter 10 the appearance of an ordinary putter or to have the advantages of the level feature to be described in connection with its operation which follows.

In operation, and assuming the blank side 50 is up and exposed, the golfer merely inserts a golf tee or other object into hole 30 thereby forcing the level 34 out of recess 22. The level is then turned over to expose side 40 and reinserted into recess 22. Flat side 44, 54 will only permit the level to be inserted one way which thereby aligns the rectangular grid 66 properly with the ball engaging surface 18 of the head 12. When aligning himself for a putt, the golfer rests lower surface 20 flushly on the ground either where the golf ball is situated or at several locations between the ball and the place the ball is intended to go. By observing the location of the bubble 64 with respect to the grids 66 and 68, he is able to accurately determine the slope of the playing surface at each place he chooses to measure. If the slope is fairly uniform and the golfer only checks it near his golf ball, his normal stance and view downwardly will immediately apprise him of the slope quality of the surface. The direction of bubble 64 from the center of the concentric circles 68 is the direction of uphill slope and the magnitude can be determined by counting the number of concentric 5 circles therebetiween. If the bubble happens to lie between two concentric circles, a close approximation may be interpolated at a glance. The rectangular grids 66 can be used alternatively to break down a total slope found by circles 68 into a slope parallel with ball engaging surface 18 and another perpendicular thereto. For example, referring to FIG. 6, if the golfer lays bottom surface 20 flush on the green behind his ball and aligns surface 18 so that his stroke would initially drive his ball directly at the cup, the bubble would indicate the green slopes upwardly in the direction shown by explanatory arrow '74 and circles 68 would indicate a slope magnitude of about 1 6. Rectangular grids 66, however, would break down this 16 angle to an angle of 5 upward to the cup and a lateral angle of 15. It will therefore be appreciated that the golfer is conscious of the magnitude and direction of the slope of the green so as to make a more educated swing at the ball.

When the level is used on a golf club other than a putter, it will provide the golfer with information as to the angle of the golf club shaft, so that when playing on a substantially fiat surface, he will always hold the club shaft at the same angle prior to swinging the club. It will be understood that this function will insure that the golfer will properly align himself with the golf ball preparatory to his swing. The multidirectional feature of the level not only serves to check the club shaft angle in a first vertical plane extending outwardly in front of the golfer, as well as a second vertical plane perpendicular to the first, but also checks against his unconscious rotation of the club shaft about its longitudinal axis.

While my invention has been shown in only its preferred embodiment, it is within my contemplation that any type of level means are usable and may be located anywhere on the golf club. I also contemplate any method of removably attaching a level as well as fixedly securing it to the golf club or having it be an integral part thereof. Similarly, more than one level may be used, such as to detect curvature in different planes, or of varying curvature giving different degrees of sensitivity.

I claim:

1. A putter for use by a person before striking a ball over a contoured surface toward an objective, the combination comprising: a shaft; a head at one end of said shaft having a ball striking surface and a substantially fiat surface at generally a right angle to the ball striking surface for alignment with said contoured surface; a level carried by said putter and selectively movable by said person relative to said head, said level having a curved transparent side with movable means carried therebelow for giving an indication of the direction of the slope of said flat surface and also having marks thereon to give an indication of the magnitude of the slope of said fiat surface, said level also having an opaque side; and means movably mounting said level for allowing said person to move same between a first position where said movable means are viewable by said person and a second position where said opaque side interferes with the viewing of said movable means.

2. A putter for use by a golfer to assist in his directing of a golf ball while putting over a putting green towards a cup comprising, in combination: a shaft; a head at the end of said shaft having a golf ball hitting surface, a substantially flat surface at generally a right angle to said ball hitting surface, and a recess extending into the head; a level removably carried in said recess having a spherically contoured, transparent wall and a generally parallel and spaced apart opaque wall, said transparent wall having lines thereon spaced at predetermined intervals and related to said flat surface; liquid enclosed between said walls; movable buoyant means in said liquid; means for removably holding said level in said recess and for permitting same to be moved between a first position where said buoyant means are viewable by the golfer and a second position where said buoyant means are concealed by said opaque wall; and means forming part of said head for assisting removal of said level.

3. The putter as set forth in claim 2, wherein said last mentioned means comprises a second recess in operative relationship with said first recess whereby an object may be inserted therein for assisting removal of said level.

4. A putter for .apprising a golfer of the slope characteristics of a putting green so that he can better direct his golf ball toward the cup, comprising: a generally upright shaft having an upper end adapted to be held by the golfer and a lower end, a club head fixedly attached to the lower end, said club head having both an elongate leading side defining a generally vertical ball engaging surface and broad lower surface means defining a substantially flat plane at generally a right angle to the ball engaging surface for imparting a substantial degree of noticeable stability to said shaft upper end in any lateral direction when held by said golfer in his normal putting stance with said lower surface means aligned flush against said putting green, and two dimensional level means carried by said club head and operatively aligned with said lower surface for indicating the slope characteristics of that portion of the putting green upon which said lower surface means is fiushly aligned, said level means including both movable indicator means and angular indicia means associated therewith, both readily viewable by the golfer from above when assuming his normal putting stance, for providing information regarding the magnitude and absolute direction of the slope of said portion whereupon said golfer is immediately apprised of said slope characteristics upon addressing the golf ball.

5. The putter as set forth in claim 4, wherein said level means pleasingly blends in with said club head so as to be generally inconspicuous.

6. A golf club to aid in improving a golfers score comprising, a golf club shaft, a golf club head at one end of said shaft having a surface for striking a golf ball and a broad lower alignment surface, indicating means carried by said head and viewable from above as the golfer addresses the ball for indicating the magnitude and direction of the slope of said alignment surface in each of two mutually perpendicular directions relative to the horizontal when said alignment surface is aligned with the playing surface, means removably securing said indicating means to said head, and means for assisting movement of said indicating means relative to said head for permitting the golfer to conceal the indicating means from View, said assisting means including a void defined by said head for permitting an object to be inserted therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 697,542 4/1902 Robertson 273163 1,173,384 2/1916 Rees 273-163 1,640,020 8/ 1927 Abraihamson. 2,502,171 3/1950 Pashby 33207 2,919,491 1/1960 Darrell et al. 33207 2,976,046 3/1961 McCullough 273-162 2,995,375 8/1961 Bukovey 273--162 3,123,358 3/1964 CZarev 33207 X 3,242,582 3/ 1966 Garrett 33-207 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. 

4. A PUTTER FOR APPRISING A GOLFER OF THE SLOPE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PUTTING GREEN SO THAT HE CAN BETTER DIRECT HIS GOLF BALL TOWARD THE CUP, COMPRISING: A GENERALLY UPRIGHT SHAFT HAVING AN UPPER END ADAPTED TO BE HELD BY THE GOLFER AND A LOWER END, A CLUB HEAD FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO THE LOWER END, SAID CLUB HEAD HAVING BOTH AN ELONGATE LEADING SIDE DEFINING A GENERALLY VERTICAL BALL ENGAGING SURFACE AND BROAD LOWER SURFACE MEANS DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PLANE AT GENERALLY A RIGHT ANGLE TO THE BALL ENGAGING SURFACE FOR IMPARTING A SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE OF NOTICEABLE STABILITY TO SAID SHAFT UPPER END IN ANY LATERAL DIRECTION WHEN HELD BY SAID GOLFER IN HIS NORMAL PUTTING STANCE WITH SAID LOWER SURFACE MEANS ALIGNED FLUSH AGAINST SAID PUTTING GREEN, AND TWO DIMENSIONAL LEVEL MEANS CARRIED BY SAID CLUB HEAD AND OPERATIVELY ALIGNED WITH SAID LOWER SURFACE FOR INDICATING THE SLOPE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT PORTION OF THE PUTTING GREEN UPON WHICH SAID LOWER SURFACE MEANS IS FLUSHLY ALIGNED, SAID LEVEL MEANS INCLUDING BOTH MOVABLE INDICATOR MEANS AND ANGULAR INDICIA MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, BOTH READILY VIEWABLE BY THE GOLFER FROM ABOVE WHEN ASSUMING HIS NORMAL PUTTING STANCE, FOR 